Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Conference on Telomeres and Telomerase May 3-7, 2011. Telomeres are specialized protein-DNA complexes that protect the ends of eukaryotic chromosomes. In most eukaryotes, telomeres contain short DNA repeats that are maintained by the telomerase reverse transcriptase. Since telomerase counteracts the terminal sequence loss that accompanies replication of linear DNA, the enzyme is required for long-term cellular proliferation. The field of telomere biology has grown rapidly once it was recognized that telomere dynamics and telomerase activation play a pivotal role in human cancer and in cellular senescence. As a result, the telomere field is now a highly diverse and dynamic research area, representing a wide variety of research interests (cancer, aging, stem cells, cell cycle, meiosis, recombination, replication, etc.) that use a large number of different model organisms (mammals, flies, plants, nematodes, fungi and protozoa). The success of basic research in telomere biology was highlighted by the awarding of the 2009 Nobel Prize in Medicine/Physiology to Elizabeth Blackburn, Carol Greider and Jack Szostak for their pioneering work in the discovery of telomerase. The previous five Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory meetings on Telomeres and Telomerase, were crucial in bringing together this diverse group of researchers and resulted in vigorous discussion and synergistic interactions stimulated by the presentation of mostly unpublished data. Since the CSH Telomere and Telomerase meeting represents the only opportunity for scientists in this rapidly growing field to interact as a whole, this meeting is of the utmost importance for the future of the field. Furthermore, the format of CSH meetings, where all talks are chosen from submitted abstracts, maximizes the opportunity for new independent investigators, post docs, and graduate students to present their work in a highly visible venue. The prior meetings had a uniformly high attendance rate from an international group of researchers. The platform presentations and posters at the past meeting presented the major discoveries in the field well before publication. We anticipate that the 2011 meeting will be equally well attended. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: Telomeres are specialized protein-DNA complexes that protect the ends of eukaryotic chromosomes. They are maintained by a specialized replication mechanism that uses RNA rather than DNA to template the synthesis of new telomeric DNA. The field of telomere biology has grown rapidly since it was recognized that telomeres play a pivotal role in human cancer, cellular aging, and stem cell maintenance. As a result, the telomere field is now a highly diverse and dynamic area, representing a wide variety of research interests (cancer, aging, cell cycle, meiosis, recombination, replication, etc.) and a large number of different model organisms (mammals, fungi, protozoa, plants). The Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory meetings on Telomeres and Telomerase is the single most important meeting in the field. It brings together a diverse group of researchers from around the world, who use a wide variety of approaches and organisms. Because most oral presentations are chosen from unsolicited abstracts, the meeting provides the opportunity for young investigators to present their latest findings to the entire telomere field. The 2011 meeting will result in vigorous discussion and synergistic interactions stimulated by the presentation of a large body of unpublished data.